


Rain of Love

by Moooomoo



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Developing Relationship, Fluff, I can't think of any tags to be honest, M/M, MEZZO" Exchange, MEZZO'', Must protect them, Shyness in relationship, very soft boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-11-29 10:47:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18222113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moooomoo/pseuds/Moooomoo
Summary: "At first, nothing changed. Well, that wouldn't be entirely true. Something did change right away. There was now a slight awkwardness between them that hadn't been there for the past three years. Where all gestures were straightforward before, there was now always a second of hesitation. And where words would fly freely, there was now a short but thoughtful silence preceding even the smallest exchange.Tamaki and Sougo started dating a week before, and neither of them actually knew how to adapt to the situation. If anything, to anyone else they would seem strangely more distant than they used to be."***Dear Butterfly: MEZZO” Exchange participation <3 ! Happy MEZZO'' day~~ <3





	Rain of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Fic for Imelia for the Dear Butterfly: MEZZO” Exchange! The prompt I used was "Shyness in relationships". I hope it's not too far away from what you wanted and that you'll still like it !

At first, nothing changed. Well, that wouldn't be entirely true. Something did change right away. There was now a slight awkwardness between them that hadn't been there for the past three years. Where all gestures were straightforward before, there was now always a second of hesitation. And where words would fly freely, there was now a short but thoughtful silence preceding even the smallest exchange.

Tamaki and Sougo started dating a week before, and neither of them actually knew how to adapt to the situation. If anything, to anyone else they would seem strangely more distant than they used to be.

It all happened after Tamaki's birthday. The youngest member of IDOLiSH7 finally turned 20, and the following party turned as wild as you can imagine when now everyone was legally allowed to drink alcohol. Even the more moderated members of their group of friends - usually Tenn and Nagi, one because he was being careful, the other because he could hold his alcohol exceptionally well - let themselves get caught up in the moment. The only ones that actually stayed sober that night were Tamaki - the young man didn't drink anything beside a sip of a beer, and only because he was forced to - and, more exceptionally, Sougo.

"Sou-chan! Promise me you won't drink anything tonight!"

"Eh? A-anything? Why is that, Tamaki-kun?"

"Well, you can drink water or tea if you want. But no!! Alcohol!! At all!!! Okay? It's important!!"

As much as Tamaki ranted about his behavior when he was drunk, it was the first time he did such a request.

"Well, it's your birthday after all.... so, ok, I guess I can do that for you. But why are you asking me this? Oh, I see! You'll drink tonight so you want me to watch after you this time, is that it?"

"...What? No, you don't get it at all Sou-chan! Whatever. Just trust me and don't drink. Okay? It's really important. Please."

His partner had of course agreed to the request, as strange as it was, and there he was. Sober among his otherwise wasted friends. A very strange feeling. Sougo was starting to think that not remembering parts of these evenings was probably a good thing, after all.

After a while, Tamaki dragged him along to another room, where he was made to sit down on a chair and hold unto an ousama pudding plush. And as you don’t really overcome that quickly 20 years of doing exactly what you’re told to do without a second thought, Sougo sat and hold the plush diligently before looking at Tamaki with a confused look.

“Sou-chan. I have something to tell you.”

“Ye-Yes!”

The older boy wasn’t sure what was happening, however he could sense Tamaki expected something from him and already felt the familiar “I hope I won’t disappoint” feeling he got so used to.

“Sou-chan, I… I like you.”

“Eh? Well, I like you too of course Tamaki-kun, you’re a very precious friend to me, just like everyone else.”

What in the world was happening to Tamaki? This is when Sougo realized his partner was actually blushing, though it was dark so it was hard to tell.

“Sou-chan, you don’t get it!! I like-like you. I really like you. A lot.”

Finally understanding what his partner meant, Sougo was rendered speechless as his own face took on a very deep shade of pink.

"Geez! Sou-chan, I love you!"

Suddenly, Tamaki broke the distance between them and levelled his eyes to Sougo's, a serious look burning inside. Taken by surprise, Sougo reacted without thinking. He immediately raised the plush to cover his face and shrunk on his chair.

_Did I hear that right? Did I hear that right? Maybe I’m drunk and I’m making this up. Maybe I’m dreaming. I must be dreaming right? I mean there is no way Tamaki-kun could reciprocate my feelings…!_

Lost in his thoughts, it took a bit of time to Sougo to notice the heavy silence in the room and realising what he had just done. Sheepishly, the older boy looked behind the plush. Tamaki was still there, though not so close anymore, looking dejected. Sougo immediately stood up, letting the plush fall on the floor.

“Oh my god, Tamaki-kun! I’m sorry!”

A hurt look showed on Tamaki’s face at these words.

_Sougo you idiot, don’t apolog_ _ize_ _! He’s going to think you don’t love him back!_

Mirroring his step forward, Tamaki took a step back.

“Tamaki-kun, wait! I…”

The younger boy turned his back to him but Sougo caught his wrist before he could leave the room.

“I love you too!”

He didn’t intend to but he almost screamed these words. He felt breathless. How did one breath? He couldn’t quite remember at the moment.

The next thing he knew, Tamaki was hugging him tightly, half crying and half laughing.

That had been one week ago. Since then, they hadn’t exchanged a single hug or kiss. It was like touching each other, even for something as innocent as hand and elbow randomly brushing each other, was now full of meaning. And they weren’t sure of how to convey this meaning. Sougo had dated already, before entering Takanashi Production. However it had been shallow and devoid of meaning. He already knew his future involved not choosing his wife. So the few dates he had never held depth, never even held a chance of working to begin with. His current relationship with Tamaki has been built on trial and errors over the years, and the only thing Sougo wished now was for the next part not to be build on errors. This time he wanted to do it right. From the start. But pondering constantly about how to approach it prevented him from actually doing anything at all.

Tamaki, for his part, never dated at all before. He never even really had interest in dating. It took him long enough to come to term with his feelings for Sougo. To admit that yes, he might have wanted to kiss those lips a few time already. That hugging his partner was not the same than hugging Riku. So he waited for his birthday, for him to be an adult. Because he knew his Sou-chan pretty well now: he would never had said yes if he had been underage. He already had to work him around the no-dating rule. But now that they _were_ dating, Tamaki was at a loss at what he should be doing. He was nervous, but he could feel Sougo was even more nervous and the last thing he wanted was his partner - his boyfriend now - to worry himself sick over him. Again. What if Tamaki did something that would trigger Sougo’s anxiety? He couldn’t take the risk.

***

Sougo opened the door of their hotel room and Tamaki went straight to one of the beds before letting himself fall on it with a long sigh. It was quite late, they barely finished a very long day of filming and it was only the first of three equally busy and tiring planned days of shooting. MEZZO’’ had be invited to be the main guest on a special 3 hours long program, and for the occasion they were both staying in Osaka with Banri for the filming. Everything was going smoothly, but they got surprised by the rain while walking back to the hotel and all three of them got completely drenched. Banri couldn’t stop apologizing for not bringing umbrellas with him, but the truth is that no one expected it to rain in the first place.

“Tamaki-kun, don’t stay on the bed like that, you’re going to get it all wet! You need to change. Do you wanna shower first?”

Reluctantly getting up the bed - Sougo did have a point, and he hated sleeping in wet sheets - Tamaki started to take off his soaked clothes.

“Nah I’m fine. Go first Sou-chan. You’re still shivering, you should warm up yourself as soon as possible.”

For a second there was a silence, the unspoken question of “could we take our shower together?” lying there between them until Sougo gave him a small nod and went to the bathroom, his cheeks rather pink.

 

Once he was done making a pile of wet clothes in the corner of the room, Tamaki wrapped himself in a blanket - he was getting a bit cold wearing only boxers - and started browsing social media on his phone while waiting for his turn. However, his thoughts kept going to Sougo. Should he have said something? The next thing he knew, he was waking up with a start, Sougo touching his shoulder.

“Tamaki-kun, are you ok? The bathroom is free, you can go shower. I’m sorry, I did as quickly as I could but you must have been really tired after all…”

Tamaki rubbed his eyes, a yawn following right after.

“‘’S okay. Can’t I just shower tomorrow and sleep now?”

“Tamaki-kun! You can’t go to sleep like this! You’ll feel better after a shower anyway, and your hair need washing after all the hairspray they used today and that rain.”

Tamaki did look like a street cat at the moment, his hair a complete mess. Sighing and yawning, Tamaki made his way to the bathroom. When he came out, the young man looked even sleepier. Sougo watched him going straight for his bed.

“Tamaki-kun? Are you going to sleep like this?”

“Why not?”

“Your hair is still dripping! That won’t do, you’ll get terrible bed hair and you could catch a cold. Come here.”

Sougo patted the space in front of him with a serious look. Knowing when he should definitely not discuss his partner’s orders, Tamaki stifled yet another yawn and sat cross-legged on Sougo’s bed. The older boy came back with a clean fluffy towel, positioned himself behind him and proceeded to energetically but gently dry his hair.

“Hmm~... this feels nice Sou-chan…”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah… It’s like you’re giving me a head massage, hehe.”

“Oh that’s right… didn’t you tell me before you liked head massages, Tamaki-kun?”

“Yeah. It’s my favorite part when we get to interact with hairstylists! I like when people plays with my hair, it feels nice.”

“Then when I’m done, I’ll brush it for you if you want.”

Tamaki rejoiced like he was getting a favor, but the truth was that Sougo actually loved playing with Tamaki’s hair. It was soft and silky under the touch, just long enough to be able to improvise with it, and always smelled of vanilla and caramel - Tamaki always brought his King Pudding shampoo everywhere with him. Sougo wasn’t really fond of sweet things, but as long as he didn’t have to eat them it was fine. Moreover, he came to associate the smell with Tamaki over the years and now it just made him feel at ease.

Humming quietly, Sougo let his hands run unto Tamaki’s scalp, playing a bit more with his hair before resuming his brushing.

“There, I’m done Tamaki-kun! All clean and dry, you can go to sleep now.”

No answer.

“Tamaki-kun?”

Sougo moved a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of his friend’s face before feeling Tamaki fall and catching him up swiftly. He fell asleep during the process and now was resting directly on Sougo. Slowly, as not to wake him up, Sougo made him lie down on the bed.

“What should I do now… should I sleep in his bed..?”

Tamaki’s sleeping face was peaceful, and for a few seconds the only thing Sougo could thought about was how much he loved him. Gently touching his cheek, he pushed back some of his hair behind his right ear. No, tonight Sougo would sleep in his own bed. Disposing of the towel, he then plugged in Tamaki’s night light before turning the room’s light off, and went to join back his boyfriend in the bed. By the time he came back, Tamaki had curled up like a cat, now deeply asleep. After using the other bed’s blanket to cover them both, spooning him from behind Sougo took him in a lose hug with his right arm before nuzzling his face into his neck and hair and slowly falling asleep to the rhythm of Tamaki’s regular breathing.

 

The next morning, Sougo woke up to the sound of his alarm. Both of them had slept like rocks and neither had moved from their initial position. With a blush, his first reaction was to remove his arm from around Tamaki, but as he was doing so he felt a hand gripping his wrist and pulling him back into position.

“Just five more minutes, Sou-chan….” said a very sleepy voice.

Sougo’s reply died on his lips when he saw that the tip of Tamaki’s ear he could see from behind was bright red.

“Okay. Five more minutes it is, then.”

Adjusting his grip, he pulled himself closer to Tamaki and buried his face into his hair, taking a deep breath. Why had he hesitated so much that past week to even touch him? This just felt so right.

Just as he let out a small sigh of satisfaction, he heard Tamaki do the same. Both men couldn’t help but giggle, before relaxing into the moment for a little while longer.

“Tamaki-kun, don’t fall asleep again, okay?”

“‘mmkay.”

Careful, as not to take away the blanket while doing so, Tamaki turned over until he was facing his friend. Smiling shyly, he let his forehead touch Sougo’s, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Last night... was nice.”

“Yeah. It was nice, wasn’t it?”

“It was warm.”

“Yeah.”

“I felt… safe.”

“Did you? Then I’m really glad. I told you before, didn’t I? I’ll protect you, Tamaki-kun.”

“Yeah. You even protected my dreams, Sou-chan. Hehe. Thanks~”

Sougo smiled in answer.

“Sou-chan?”

“Yes?”

“I love ya.”

“Yeah. Me too. I love you, Tamaki-kun.”

Lacing his fingers with Tamaki’s, Sougo closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful moment they were sharing.

“I guess ten more extra minutes won’t hurt us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not good at writing romantic relationships (reading about it: I LOVE IT. writing about it: not so skilled) so I hope it doesn't come out too flat xD.  
> I was inspired a lot by some tweets I exchanged on Twitter with other ppl (especially Korm) about Tamaki's hair <3 I really wanted to write about it after that!


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